NowBlowPoMe: Birth Stories

Pghgirl gave me an idea…

Let ‘em rip! I want to hear from others. If you feel up to it, share your birth story in the comments section. If you already have it written somewhere, give us a link! (See the FAQ section for formating instructions.)

P.S. Please leave politics out of this. Those are valid discussions but I don’t care to host them on my site. If you write about how one birth is better than another, I will delete your comment.

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32 Comments

I had a c-section. There is nothing terribly exciting about my story. My water broke in the operating room and I couldn’t feel it. I had a friend who gave birth while I was pregnant. The baby died 3 months later from SMA. I guess I was so traumatized by her experience that I was obsessed with having a healthy baby and not focused on the actual birth.

I was awake but numb from my shoulders down. I have only a vague feeling that someone was tugging at me. It took a few hours to get the feeling back in my legs. It hurt to laugh for a few days and I walked around like an old woman. Recovery was no problem as I followed doctor’s orders.

You are right – there is no one birth better than another. Each person has to do what is best for them. In the end, everyone just wants a healthy baby, right?

Thank-you so much for sharing Emory’s birth story. I’ve been reading your blog for about a month and it’s been giving me perspective for the upcoming birth of our first baby. The estimated due date is in 4 days! I am greatful for how candid you are; I’m a Canadian living in Finland, and I find that the Finns I’ve met don’t share so many details. I like the details!

I’m due in April and am hoping my birth story goes something like this: 8am contractions start and water breaks, 9am in hospital ready to push, 9:15am healthy baby boy arrives. That’s not too unrealistic is it? Yeah, I’m absolutely f’ing terrified.
Thanks again for posting your story. I love hearing other women’s experiences and finally realizing every story is so different. Who knows what’s in store for me!

I woke up at 1 AM early Thursday morning. Something wasn’t right in my tummy…it felt like a menstrual cramp, but I was so huge that I thought it was just a full bladder. After a trip to the bathroom and a climb back into bed, twenty minutes later I felt it again. Hmmmm… maybe this is labor?

Every twenty minutes the pain would come and go and I got a rough night of sleep. Come morning, Hubbie thought that this was probably labor. He went into work and told me to call if the contractions became more frequent. As the day wore on, the contractions came about every 10 minutes and were rather painful. I would kneel on the carpeted floor and rock through each one. Afterwards I’d get up and get on with whatever I was doing.

Later that afternoon, I called Hubbie and he came home. I was excited that this was “the day”. I went into the OB/GYN office for a labor check around 4pm after contractions were occurring every 8 minutes. I wondered how far along I’d come… would it be 3 centimeters or 4?

I was grimacing a lot when I came into the office. My favorite office worker was at the window and quickly spoke with the clinicians. After being whisked back to an exam room, the midwife took a look. The exam was a little painful given that I was having contractions, but she was very attentive and ceased when I contracted. Turns out after a day of laboring, I would be super disappointed that I was only 1 cm dilated! But I was almost full effaced. She told me that she suggested I go home and relax for awhile. She thought that a glass of wine might take the edge off the contractions. She was on call that evening and told me to ring when the contractions became more frequent – one every 5 minutes. I went home (3 contractions on the ride home)and continued to labor with regular contractions 6 minutes apart.

Finally around 8pm I decided to take a hot shower. I don’t know what it was about that shower, but contractions became less frequent… once every 8 minutes, then 10 minutes, then back to 20 minutes. I was so disappointed! I confronted another night of no sleep (little would I know that lack of sleep would be par for the course for the next 2.5 months).

I tossed and turned all night – having contractions every 10 – 15 minutes. In retrospect, these were tolerable contractions… those that hurt like heck while you have them but are nothing to pull your hair out about.

Come Friday morning, I was very tired and ready to have this baby (now more than 24 hours of contractions). Contractions picked up as the day wore on and Hubbie stayed home with me. It was about 2 weeks before my due date, so we still hadn’t completed many things for baby preparation. It was somewhat funny… he was running around trying to complete things (packing bags, loading car, finishing remodeling the basement) in between contractions. Being an A-type personality, he was also trying to record the length and duration of and between every contraction on a pad of paper. Needless to say, he missed a few as he ran between the basement and the second floor.

Finally that afternoon, I was in the 5-6 minute range and we called the OB office for another labor check. They told us to come right in. Same scenario… after a 4 contraction trip, they whisked me back to the exam room. My favorite midwife happened to be on call (thank you, God!). Hubbie was very nervous… She took a look and told me I was….. only 2 centimeters dilated! What the f&#@x%x$*! I’ve been laboring for more than 36 hours and only 2 measly centimeters! She said I was completely effaced though and she thought tonight was “the night”.

She gave me the option of going straight to the hospital from the office or going home until I had contractions in the 4-5 minute range. I really did not want to labor long in the hospital… the longer you are there, the more interventions, etc. I chose home. We were given instructions to page the midwife and have a good dinner and sent on our way.

I was home yet again. No baby yet. Depressing. Hubbie made me a pasta dinner for the energy I’d need (no red sauce… just butter, didn’t want to be revisited by red sauce). I was deathly afraid of being denied food at the hospital. I’m one of those people who gets low blood sugar at the drop of a hat and I wanted to avoid an IV. (I also wanted to avoid an episiotomy… ha ha! Can’t always get what you want.)

By 5:45pm the contractions picked up and we phoned the midwife. We were going to the hospital! Yea! She called ahead and they were expecting us. Months earlier we had decided to deliver at the small community hospital rather than the larger, NICU equipped teaching hospital. Why? It was much friendlier, the nurses had more time to teach, and you were guaranteed your own room for labor, delivery and post-partum. My husband tells me that I am not a good sharer… and I definitely don’t think I would have been a good sharer during labor and delivery! I was also a low risk delivery and was willing to forgo the NICU assurance to have my own hospital room. Vain, I know.. but it seemed worth the trade-off. Plus if a transfer were necessary, it was only a 20 minute drive.

At the hospital, I toddled up to Labor/Delivery at about 6:00 pm. The nurses at the desk directed me to the labor suite I’d had hoped for- the one with the whirlpool tub (not that I’d ever get a chance to use it). It was very homey with a rocking chair, table, bureau with TV, bed, recliner, etc. It was also huge. The nurse settled us and had me change. I wanted to wear some comfy old clothes (tee shirt and shorts) that always made me feel better when sick. She said that was fine and just warned me that they may get dirty. I got all hooked up to the monitors so they could run some contraction strips, etc. That’s when I learned what a camel-back contraction was… when another contractions starts before the previous one finishes. That’s why I wasn’t getting a breather in between.

Before the midwife comes to the hospital, the nurse examines you to see how far along you are. So, another vaginal exam. And she reports…. 2.5 cm! What the heck?! How long is it going to take to get this baby out? Nurse calls findings into midwife, who is no longer in a rush to get to hospital. Nurse can’t formally admit me to hospital, as I am not the 3cm needed. Disappointment again. She indicated I am an “admit-wait” meaning that they’d wait and see if they’d admit me.

So, I settle in with a book and my Jolly Rancher lollypops while the nurse goes to discharge the only other labor/delivery patient home… this patient didn’t want to miss her bus and was making a big stink about getting out of the hospital. Nurse tells us to get her if “anything cool” happens, like my water breaking. I get disengaged from all the machinery. A half hour later I decide to walk the halls, hearing that walking can get the labor process going. I go up and down the halls. Nada.

Climb back into bed. Hubbie settles in for a recliner nap and wants me to do the same. I’m too excited to sleep. Finally I get up to walk the halls again and as soon as I am standing I feel something fall in my stomach, a very strange sensation. All of a sudden, the Hoover Dam opens and my water breaks. All over my shorts and new slippers. Note to self – should have listened to nurse and worn hospital clothing. Hubbie goes to get nurse, I stand in wet clothing and wet pool of amniotic fluid. At least now I’ve met hospital criteria for admission!

Nurse comes in with hospital gowns and towels to clean up mess. I change into hospital clothes and put my clothes into the whirlpool tub (only use the tub sees). Nurse wants me on monitor again, so back to bed. The contractions hurt a lot more now with the babe’s head hitting my cervix. Change in status means that the midwife is coming in. IV gets inserted – hospital policy. At least it is only to be a lock with no fluids running. Only problem is that no one can start the IV. I am the easiest stick in the world. I would donate blood all the time without problems… first stick every time. But pregnancy and child birth had done a number on my veins and every stick would end in an aborted attempt. After numerous sticks, nurse goes to get nurse 2. Ah well, the contractions hurt more than the sticks.

After running some more strips, the midwife arrives and encourages me to get up and about through the contractions. Hubbie and I do “slow dancing” through contractions. I try the labor ball, but no go. Can only sit on it between contractions. Nurse 2 comes to get an IV. I sit on the labor ball and stick out both forearms on the bed. “Stick me,” I say. She mentions she always gets it on the first try. No go. She sticks me three more times before getting a patent vein.

This is where things start to get somewhat hazy. It seems like most women in childbirth get this “hazy memory” period. I could hear things people were saying but I was in my own little world. Occasionally I could eek out a line or two comeback, but that was it. I labored for awhile in a rocking chair with my feet across the bed. I got another vaginal check…. I had rocketed to 7 cm dilated. I remember asking “Can I push already?!”. Nurse mentions that it sounds like I am in transition.

Oh goodness… I’d never seen folks start moving so quickly. The room was a lot like a transformer… the quaint cupboards all of a sudden held medical supplies. Blue drapes covered rolling carts. Lights are dimmed. I was moved to bed. Just a lip of the cervix left. Not 10 cms, but close enough.

I was hot. Really really hot. Like sweltering day in the desert hot. Frying an egg on the sidewalk hot. Searing meat hot. My shirt came off, but I retained the sports bra (like modesty really mattered at this point!) Hubbie started handing me iced down wash cloths. I couldn’t get them fast enough. I was broiling. I was allowed to start pushing. I pushed while on my back. I pushed while on my side. I pushed while on my other side. No progress. Moving into each of these positions was a Herculean task. Midwife wanted me kneeling on the bed. It was too much. I didn’t move. She said “Or not.”

I’m a girl who likes a challenge. As soon as she said that, I got the energy to move to my knees. But no progress… the pushing was not moving things along and was taking gobs of energy out of me. I was drained. I had been awake for so long!

Finally the midwife asks the nurses for suggestions in pushing positions. Nurse 2 suggests tug-of-war. This consists of knotting a bed sheet at one end and the nurse anchoring it at the other end. Mom-to-be gets the knot to pull on while she pushes… a sort of valsalva maneuver. This is golden. I play tug-of-war with the nurse and topple her over I am pulling so hard. I am winning and the baby is moving. Three folks end up anchoring the nurse-end while I push mightily. We are getting closer and closer.

Hair is seen. A lot of hair. I hear comments about how much hair is seen. I am in so much pain. I am doing this without pain meds and every push is excruciating. I make a promise to myself to never again have a baby without pain meds. All I can think about is when is this going to be over.

I am told one more push. I hurt so bad. I hear Nurse indicate that the baby’s heart rate has dropped into the 80s. I am instantly worried. I am focused on the 80s- my baby, not the pushing. Midwife tells me to push again. I give it a try but nothing is moving. It is like a bad dream I can’t wake up from. Oh no…. midwife says we are doing an episiotomy. I don’t even feel her cut me with the scissors, I am in so much labor pain. She tells me to push and I do. With a whoosh the baby is out. I hear the baby cry. “It’s a girl,” the midwife says. “Do you want to hold her?” Still panicked, I cry “Make sure she is alright first.” And then I think, “I’ve got a baby girl! And I don’t hurt anymore.” It is 12:30AM on Saturday. Umbilical cord is cut (midwife comments on how incredibly long it is) and baby is whisked to the warming table. Baby is suctioned by respiratory therapist (I can see the outlines of folks in the distance hovered around the bright light of the table.) Midwife tells me to push again and very easily the placenta slides out. I quickly glance at the placenta and see the horrific blood spread everywhere…. seriously like a crime scene. I lay back and sigh. Happiness.

Midwife stitches up the episiotomy and some further tearing from delivery. Lots of stitches. The room is cleaned up. Nurse brings me a tuna sandwich (best I’ve ever had… probably because I was famished.) Baby is weighed and cleaned. Her hair is combed with a fine tooth comb. She is fingerprinted; I am fingerprinted. We get more plastic bands. She has her first (and hopefully last!) nude photo taken for identification/security purposes. People start to disappear. I am escorted to the bathroom by Nurse and told to try to urinate. Not happening! Baby is bundled and put into bassinet. I ask if I can walk down the hall with the bassinet to our post-partum room rather than being wheeled in bed. Nurse agrees. The three of us (Hubbie, me and Baby E) walk down the hall, past the nurses station, into our new world together.

(sorry, this is a long one – maybe I should’ve broken it into chapters too…) :)

My son (my first) was due Oct 21st, 2004. On Oct 6th, my husband (J) and I went to bed, had “relations”, and a few minutes after that, my water broke. I remember telling him “now, don’t panic, but I think my water broke”. we were both panicking though. It was over two weeks early, so I had nothing ready, no bag packed, I didn’t have the phone number for the hospital, or anything. So we packed quick, and I went out to the truck to lay some towels down on the seat (I wasn’t quite sure how much “water” was supposed to come out, but I didn’t want to have it all over the truck!).

I came back in and J was on the phone telling his mom. I was a little ticked, because I didn’t really want anyone to know until afterwards, but I guess I had forgotten to tell him that. So then I figured as long as he had called his mom, I would call mine too.

SO we made it to the hospital about 9:45 at night. I was barely dilated at all, so the nurses said to just “try and get some rest”. Sure!! easier said than done when you know you’re going to be having a baby soon. One thing I remember the nurse saying is that one way or another, you will be having your baby within 24 hours. I think that really hit home with both of us and made it feel even more real and exciting.

An hour or so after we got to the hospital, I started to feel contractions, real faint but regular about every 5 minutes apart. That continued for awhile and in the morning they were getting worse so I got a dose of nubain. That put me right to sleep. I was a little frustrated when I woke up, because when they checked me, I hadn’t dilated anymore, which they said was because I had been sleeping. So I tried to walk around and be more active, and that helped so much in moving things along. Although it got a little embarassing, being in the middle of the hallway and having really strong contractions, I would have to get to the side and hold on to the side rails (bumpers) in the hallway for support.

Both my mom and J’s mom came in the morning, I don’t really remember spending much time with them, but they said they actually were in the room with me a lot of the time.

In the classes we took ahead of time, we had been told that when you have contractions, to try not to tense up and squeeze up, becuase you’re just fighting what your body is trying to do. That too was easier said than done… So J would hold my hand and I would just squeeze it so hard, and then he kept reminding me to not squeeze, and not be tense, so from then on, on every contraction, when I would hold his hand I would just will myself to not squeeze his hand. The rest of my body would be so tensed up, but I made my hand relax. That seems kind of stupid I guess, but I didn’t want him to know I couldn’t relax.

I remember at one point my mom tried to talk me into having an epidural, that it would make things so much easier, and you wouldn’t feel the pain at all, etc… This is really stupid, but the only reason I didn’t get one is because my sister had given birth 10 months before, and I THOUGHT she went through it without an epidural. I wanted to do the same. The funny thing is, I found out afterwards she had had an epidural, I just didn’t remember it at the time. WHich is kind of funny, because if I would’ve known that at the time, I would’ve definitely had one too. Funny how those sibling rivalries work…

That afternoon was really blurry, I don’t remember much of anything. Around 5 pm, the nurse said I was dilated all the way and she would call the doctor over from the clinic (a few blocks away). I kept saying “can you just please ask him to hurry?” I didn’t think I was going to be able to make it much longer. Around 5:25, the dr came in and several nurses with the cart and trays of stuff. There was a mirror on the ceiling so I could watch what was happening. I didn’t like that at first, but towards the end after I could see the head coming out, it was great motivation to be able to see how close I was. When they started telling me to push around 5:30, one of the nurses said something like “This will go easy, I bet you’ll be done by 6”.

It also took me awhile to get the hang of pushing. At first, and I don’t know why I did this, but I was taking a breath and then like holding my breath and blowing, like where your cheeks get all big. (btw if you do this, it causes all kinds of lovely broken capillaries afterwards all over your face and upper body that stay there for a few days – I found that out the hard way!) I just had a hard time doing it the right way. But finally (ok it was just a half hour), the head starting coming out, and the doctor told me to reach down there and help the rest out. I said no (I just didn’t think I could do that), but he said “you won’t regret it”, so I did, and he’s right, I don’t regret it! Even though it sounds gross, it really made it neat to feel the baby as you’re pushing it out.

After he came out (at 5:58 pm – the nurse was right!), my husband cut the cord, and they put him on my chest (the baby not my husband!) :) You are so right, the doctors and nurses pushing on your stomach afterwards is so much worse than the birth was.

After that my mom and J’s mom came in, and we called a few family members. They went home and they took the baby out to be weighed and measured and stuff. J went with them, so I was all by myself, and that was the weirdest feeling, like there had been all this activity and all these people around for so long, and then there was nobody and it was quiet. They brought him back around 10 pm, and asked if we needed anything. I asked for something, anything to eat (since I hadn’t eaten since supper the night before). They brought me buttered toast, and I swear, it was the best food ever. :)

The next few days in the hospital were a blur, I don’t remember much of anything. I do remember when we went home, and putting the carseat in the truck for the first time, it hit both of us that this is it, we are now entrusted with this little life.

Guess I’ve rambled long enough… :) Our son is now 3 and is the light of our lives. It was worth every minute, and I would do it all again in a second. We’re actually going to start “trying” again in a few weeks, and I’m really excited to hopefully get to go through it all again knowing what to expect.

I had c-sections for both of my girls.
Isabel was two weeks late. I had planned on doing everything natural. No pain meds, nothing. But the problem was she just didn’t want to come out. My Dr. told me that if I didn’t go into the labor by 42 weeks that I would have to be induced. Induced I was. For 9 hours I was induced. Nothing happened. I only dialated maybe to 1cm if that. They broke my water but still nothing. They even gave me something that would increase the contraction and still nothing happened. Finally after what seemed like one long contraction that lasted for hours with no break, I finally asked for something that would “take the edge off.” I don’t remember what it was but it felt great! At that point my Dr. decided that we should do a C-section because I wasn’t progressing at all.
I remember bits and pieces here and there but my strongest memory was of what everyone in the OR said when Isabel was finally delivered. It wasn’t “Oh, its a girl!” it was “What a big baby!”. Isabel was 10pounds 1oz. Yes, my friends I gave birth to a turkey!!!!
For my second pregnancy with Aubrey I never went into labor with her either. She was about 3 days late. For her my water actually broke. At 10:30 at night. I called the Dr. and they told me to wait and time my contractions. So I had a very sleepless night as you could imagine as I was waiting for the contractions to come. Like her sister, there were no contractions! We went to the hospital to be examined and they sent me home. The told me to come back by 5 if I didn’t have any more contractions. That way they could schedule me for a c-section. I was pissed because I had planned with my doctor on having a V-bac delivery. (V-bac: Vaginal birth after C-section) Apparently this hospital didn’t allow V-bac deliveries to be induced. This is not what my Dr. had told me. Of course my Dr. was not on call the night I delivered! I was able to talk to her on the phone. She apologized many times over, saying she was not aware of this particular policy and the like. Needless to say, I was pissed. So I went home to go take a walk to get this labor started. I called a friend who was watching my older daughter and made her walk with me at the playground. We walked around and around in hopes of getting this baby to come. Like Isabel, nothing happened. So come 5pm we hopped back into the car and ventured to the hospital again to get ready for the c-section. This time was strange as I was not drugged up like the last time so I just wanted into the OR and hopped up onto the table like nothing was going to happen. Kinda surreal actually. Not 20 minutes later was Aubrey born. Like her sister, she was a big baby too: 9lbs, 6oz. The nurses let my husband tell me the “flavor” of the baby as we chose not to find out the sex of either of our girls. I kind like surprises like that…..
Anyway, that was my birthing story for my girls…

My due date was July 30th. On Sunday the 22nd, I looked at my husband and told him “we better get things done tonight, because I’m going into labor tomorrow and having this baby by Tuesday.” I don’t know how I knew, I just did. I’m a nursing assistant at the hospital that I delivered at, and I worked an evening shift on Monday the 23rd. Very busy, crazy, hectic, and about 9:00 I started feeling extremely hot, sweating profusely, and a little dizzy. It passed after about 30 minutes. I got home at midnight, and at 12:15 I was laughing at something my husband said. I felt a little trickle of water, and started laughing even harder, thinking I peed my pants a tiny bit. It kept happening, and it finally dawned on me that my water may have broken.

I called the hospital, and they told me to come in and get checked out. We were so excited, we forgot to do so many things. We forgot the carseat, my nursing bra, etc. We threw the dog in the kennel and left. When we arrived they did the test and told me they weren’t sure if my water broke, because there was such small amounts, but they THINK my water broke, and they were going to admit me. Very exciting. Here we go. It’s 2:00 in the morning. They told me to walk around for awhile to try and get labor going because I wasn’t having any contractions. I made one lap around the floor and couldn’t tolerate anymore because I had very bad sciatica that was bothering me a lot after my busy night at work. I decided to go to bed, and they told me they would start Pitocin at 6 AM if contractions hadn’t started yet.

6 AM: no contractions. They started the Pitocin at around 6:30, and boy did it ever get things going. I immediately started having INTENSE contractions every 2-3 minutes. Shockingly intense, to the point that I could not even open my eyes. I moaned with every breath. I knew it was very early for an epidural (I was only 1 cm), but I begged for something else for the pain. They gave me nubain, which was totally worthless, in my opinion. All it did was make me sleepy with intense contractions, which made it worse.

My nurse was old and crotchety and insisted that I get up into the rocking chair, which I DID NOT want to do. At all. But she made me, and I couldn’t tolerate it for more than 2 contractions; I wanted to go back to bed. But I decided to try the birthing ball, as I thought I would love it. Turns out, I believe it’s a torture device. That was one of two times I actually screamed during labor. I hated it. I got back in bed. At 8:30, I was begging for them to check me again, because I knew I had made progress and I wanted the epidural. The nurse refused to check me, saying she would check me again at 10:30, that I wouldn’t have made much progress yet. Can you see where this is going? When she checked me at 10:30, I was at 8 cm. She was “surprised” and paged the anesthesiologist, much to my relief. When I heard her say 8 cm, my heart sank, I was so afraid it was too late for the epidural. It wasn’t, yay!

I went from rocking in bed and moaning to smiling, telling my husband to call everyone to come and visit. My nurse warned me that I needed rest, and I knew I did, but I so badly wanted to see my friends and family. After a few hours, I finally got some rest. At 3:30, I started having that feeling that I had to poop, very badly. I had the urge to push. My nurse held one leg, my husband held the other, and I tried pushing. Our friend Chad is a professional photographer, and he documented the entire day for us, starting from when we first arrived at the hospital until after our baby was born. No crotch shots though, everything was pretty pictures. :) Chad stood in the corner, and I was totally oblivious to him.

It took awhile to get the hang of pushing, I was so frustrated. I was trying so hard, they would start to see the top of the head and my body would just give out. The baby would slip back.

My nurse suddenly told me to stop pushing, and as hard as I tried, the urge was so strong that I couldn’t stop. Suddenly my doctor and the NICU team was there, and I started crying because I didn’t know what was going on. They took my temperature, and I had a fever. (Sidenote: my OB team consisted of 4 doctors, and they rotated being on call, so I knew there was a chance I could get any of them. Of course, I got the one doctor I did not want.) He was very calm, but told me the baby had to come out NOW, the heart rate was dropping to very low levels with every contraction, which is why the NICU team was there. I tried another push, and my doctor said, “This is not happening. We’re using a vaccuum to get the baby out now.”

That vaccuum hurt like hell going in. He also lost the suction on the first contraction and it popped out. I was pushing with the next contraction, and everyone started saying, “open your eyes, open your eyes!” I looked down, and the head was out. I remember thinking, how in the hell did that come out of my vagina? I felt such relief after the had was out, my head fell back onto the bed. I didn’t see the rest come out, and I’m very sad I didn’t. My husband cut the cord, and they immediately gave my daughter to the NICU team. I understand, but I’m very sad I didn’t get that moment of having her put on my chest. Everything was ok, they cleaned her up and gave her to me about 8 minutes later.

My doctor was sewing me up while they were checking her out, and I asked how bad it was. He told me it was a small, second degree tear, nothing too bad. I breastfed her for about 10 minutes, we spent some time alone with her, then called in our family and friends. My husband and I knew we were having a girl, but we didn’t tell our friends or family. It was very fun to see their reactions when we said her name. We have a great picture of that moment, my MIL’s face is shocked, her mouth wide open, because she was convinced we were having a boy.

We named our daughter Adeline Mae. Everything was very surreal, I felt like I was under water, in a different world. I LOVED being pregnant, even though I had a horrible pregnancy. It was a relief that she was finally here. I had very bad hyperemesis and was hospitalized for 2 weeks. I had lost 21 pounds between my 7th and 9th week of pregnancy, only 13 days. I was only 134 to begin with. I had a PICC line put in, was on TPN and lipids, and connected to a zofran pump 24 hours a day until I was 6 months pregnant. I didn’t get back to my pre-pregnancy weight until I was 7 months pregnant. I was so relieved she was finally here!

Just wanted to say that I’ve enjoyed reading Emory’s birth story. I have no children of my own, but I have training as a birth doula and I’m very interested in all things birth. Learning about it is kind of a hobby of mine. I tend to lean towards the “natural” side of things for various reasons, but I’m not trying to argue that all here at all. I certainly don’t criticize any woman’s choice. The whole point is that there are lots of choices and it’s better to be a childbearing woman now than it has ever been before.

What I wanted to say to you is that I’ve really loved reading your story for the other perspective. Your story has humbled me, reminded me that birth is about a mother, a father, and a baby. Everything else is just periphery.

I went into the doctor at 9:15am on March 5th. I was supposed to be induced a week earlier but everything looked healthy so she said she wanted to see me back March 5th and really didn’t want to induce if we didn’t need to. I wasn’t happy about this but I knew that I needed to let the little one “cook” as long as possible. At the appointment on the 5th, she said that my blood pressure was a little high… still, and due to the fact that I was STILL dilated ONLY 2 cm and it was 2 days before my due date (and not progressing), she said to keep the appointment at the hospital for today at 4 P.M.! We had set this at our last OB appointment due to the fact I was swollen beyond belief and my BP was high.

We were so excited and came home to get ready, which we pretty much were already. I couldn’t eat anything but a liquid diet after 12pm and we went to HEB to get jello, soup and plenty of water. I craved water so badly all through this pregnancy. I had to drop a class because it was 2.5 hours at 8 A.M. and I couldn’t sit still, could eat or drink in that class…uhhh, DROP!

The car had been packed since our morning OBGYN visit so we just called around 3:30 to say that we were scheduled for 4pm induction and make sure they had room for us. They didn’t have a bed ready and they said to just wait until 5pm to come in. This bothered me but there was nothing I could do and I was just happy to be finally close to seeing my baby. So we waited some more with nothing else to think of other than the next time we walked into the house, we’d have our little girl. I was thinking of the task ahead, not knowing whether I would give birth naturally or by c-section or whether everything would go smoothly and without complication.

Finally 5pm came and we were in the waiting room at the hospital after being told it would be a little while longer and taking my information down to get my folder for the doctors ready. The lady was rude that was working the front desk. I walked up and she asked me why I was there. UHHHH, TO GIVE BIRTH. She asked me if I was admitted or if I felt contractions and Lane took me to the waiting area where I was smothered with calls from family asking “when, can we come up?” I would say “no” a thousand times that day. We waited with a box full of stuff and that huge birthing ball and another bag of clothes and food. I looked ridiculous, like the 80’s sitcoms where they are totally prepared with birthing book in hand. We were well prepared though.

Finally, we got settled into the room at 6pm and I was told to change into the wonderful gown and to get situated so that they could put me on monitors. It was all too surreal that we were finally to this point and there was no going back now. I still felt, and still to this day, feel like I’m playing house with Lane. I got settled into bed in labor and delivery room number 4 and the nurse came in to put in my IV that all my medicines would be put into. I was scared and Lane asked her a million questions as she prepared all my medicine and put in my IVs, I was embarrassed but happy to have Lane there to ask the questions that were going through my head!!! All I could ask was…”have you done this many times” and she answered, “this is my first time” I did not laugh. Lane told me to relax, she was just kidding. My humor had been buried by my thoughts of how unprepared I was. After all nine months and a whole life of wanting to be a mom and parenting classes, I wasn’t ready. I had to have a saline drip with some sugar in it too because I was dehydrated and they thought maybe that would help with my contractions to get going. I also had to have meds for my group strep B which would effect the baby as she came out of me. I had the IV put in the side of my right hand in the wrist area which was so odd and painful whenever I needed to move around—but I got used to it. I didn’t say anything but I was so proud as the cold liquid passed through into my veins- I made it through the worst part of the needles.

After she got my bags of medicine started, my nurse got me a little pitcher with a straw full of ice water and I never stopped drinking and going to the bathroom every 1 hour after that! I loved that damn pitcher and I’m mad that I didn’t bring it home. It was my buddy through the whole stay. The nurses and Lane both made sure that I was always well hydrated. I thought with all the liquids being pumped into me that I wouldn’t want anymore but I drank a lot. A little later on, my OB came in to check on me before she went home and told me that Dr. Cool, another doctor would come in to insert my cervadil. I was so glad to see my OB, she had seen me since day one and I was so comfortable with her. He came in and was a cute old man that had a name that suited him well! After this, my nurse said that she had sleeping pills that I could take and just let her know if I wanted to take them so that I had a little help sleeping that night. I declined.

That night, it seemed like everyone came to the hospital and we had plenty of company. The new nurse was very nice and came in every once in a while to check on my blood pressure and the baby’s heart rate. (I didn’t ever think about the fact that a new nurse would be with me every 12 hours or so, I was distraught by this.) I finally gave in around 11pm and asked for the sleeping pill. It did nothing but make me hallucinate and look high. I was already thinking about a million things and then I was talking in my sleep. Lane slept on the sleeper chair, really uncomfortable looking. He had to wake up every time I needed to go to the restroom to unhook all the monitors and to help put my IV at my side to roll into the restroom. God bless that man. It was a long night and I remember thinking that soon, I wouldn’t have to go to the bathroom as much and I wouldn’t be a whale stuck in bed. Every time I thought about that though, I’d think “there is no going back now”. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have to push this baby out. March 6th came and I basically watched TV. I was relaxed and I was enjoying my attention from family coming and going. I was hyped up about seeing my daughter. They started my pitocin when my OB came in to check on me, we ate lunch with Lindsey and Lane went to the house to let Jack out. For a whole day in bed, it went by pretty fast. I had to endure check ups of my cervix all day and my skin and tissue was swollen because of all the tugging and checking. The doctors were shocked by this so I’m guessing the pitocin had something to do with it too. We still don’t know if it was an allergic reaction or what. I had to walk around that day for an hour, doctor’s orders, and I cried and complained through it because it was boring and painful.

Finally night came and I fell asleep around 9pm. Nanny and Pop came in around 9:30pm and I woke up to say sorry because I just couldn’t see anyone. I was furious that the nurses let them come in and didn’t bother to tell me. My OB said I still hadn’t progressed. Lane and I fell asleep after he came back from letting Jack out and we went through our regular night routine. At around 1:30am my cervix was checked and we went back to sleep but I stayed up and was pretty uncomfortable. I was tired, I wanted to sleep but just couldn’t. At 2:30am, after being groggy and feeling people come in every once in a while to check me, I felt a pop. Could it be? And it was…my water broke and the more I pushed, the more water came out. I called to Lane, “my water just broke, I did it.” I told him to look and see what color the liquid was. I’m sure he never thought he’d be doing all this looking and unhooking and watching me go to the bathroom. It was clear!!! I was so happy that I did this on my own and that I waited without help. After being induced, it felt really great to at least help myself get the process moving. When that happened though, the pressure came. The fluids kept coming out too, very odd feeling! I felt my stomach and felt her more than ever and my stomach changed from round to a sort of football shape almost. I remember thinking that it felt like a football with no air in it. Every time I pushed out more water, I could feel more pressure. It was time to start the breathing and seeing if I could manage the pain. Lane helped me through contractions. It was getting to be too much and after about the 5th contraction, I was asking for the epidural. I was scared to get this, but the epidural hurt less than a shot in the arm. I guess if you wait long enough without one, it feels like a tickle when you do get it. After the epidural, I was able to sleep a little more.

Early on the 7th, my OB came in and said that I still hadn’t shown any signs of progressing on my own (even after my water broke) and she liked to have all patients delivered within 12 hours of their water breaking. With me making no progress, she thought a c-section would be best. I said “great” and she said I’d go in at 9:15am. This was around 8:45 or 9am!! Lane and I got our stuff together to move. I had some more of the epidural through my inserted IV in my back. I also had to drink some gross liquid that was to help me not throw up because the medicine I was about to experience was going to be intense. They gave it to me in a little medicine cup. Lindsey was there to see us off right before I went in. She almost had to get me a trash can to throw up in after that medicine but I held back…later this would prove a dumb move. Lane recorded some video diary of us getting ready to go as they packed the sheets around me to keep me warm for the roll to the OR. I was shivering and shaking. I told the camera and my husband that I was ready and I wasn’t nervous. We were in good spirits as we went to the OR. I made jokes all the way to the room. I rolled as Lane went to get ready in his scrubs. I was strapped to the table and the anesthesiologist told me that he was putting in some serious meds in my IV. I heard the music from the room, “Danny’s Song” sung by Loggins and Messina. There were windows on the right hand wall. I loved it, I do much better in a natural light filled room. I still made jokes as they pumped me with meds and struggled getting my limbs where they needed to be.

Lane came in as they were testing to make sure I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t feel a thing and they were going to get started. I had no idea, but my OB headed the whole c-section and that made me so confident. I just felt that she knew me and my body I guess. I heard my OB say they were making the incision and was pleased that I didn’t feel anything at all, but it was an odd feeling knowing that was the knife cutting me. Lane told me later that he looked and smelled burning flesh and it made him sick as they were “burning” through my muscle and skin to get to where Emily was. I was glad he didn’t share that with me at the time. I felt the tugging for a while, Emily didn’t want to come out! They had to use the vacuum and the urgency in my OB’s voice was not comforting. After they got her out, we looked over as they started to clean and examine her. I had the look of surprise on my face as I saw my little girl for the first time, I wish we had taken a picture. We couldn’t though; we just stared at this thing we had created. We both didn’t have the tears to cry, not even blink. I remember her little hands and feet up in the air and I counted fingers and toes. She looked so clean and her head only had a little blood on it and looked as though the vacuum didn’t harm her. I will never forget looking at her for the first time in disbelief that I created that with Lane.

After that, the pain set in under the incision. I told the person giving me my medication that I needed more and I needed it NOW. I then proceeded to throw up, I started to get ansy. I wanted to walk out of the room and hold my baby. He gave me more but I still felt pretty uncomfortable tugging and prodding at my body. Lane held Emily up to me and I couldn’t focus enough to spend time admiring her. I knew she was ok, now I had to worry about me. It’s funny now to think that I didn’t want to see her because of the pain. Lane got some quality time with her as they stitched me up. He told me later of the gory tales of the OR. He said that he saw blood hit the light and then he stopped looking. He also saw my uterus on my stomach as they stitched me up.

They wheeled me into recovery and the pediatrician came to check Emily out. I was in a little nook and the pedi was from our circle of doctors and was really nice. In recovery, I had a wonderful nurse that needed to massage my uterus. She said she was sorry but she had to do the massage now and quickly started to pushed on my stomach really hard and rubbed all the way down, it was SO PAINFUL. Plus, I then realized that I had a catheter in and it was sort of uncomfortable. I was worried about that as well. All these worries and procedures happened so fast and this, my friends, is why people have more than one kid. My daughter was then put on my chest and she started to nurse. She did it with no problems. We were then taken up to the room we’d be in until March 9th when we would go home.

For the rest of my stay, I didn’t have to be separated from her at all, which, we were so happy that she was healthy and didn’t have to be taken from us. She did have her neonatal screenings as well as her sight and hearing tests away from us, but those were brief. On the night of the 8th, I had this wonderful asian nurse. She was so nice and brought me my pitcher full of ice water, graham crackers and plenty of orange juice. It was so nice and it was a great change from some of the other nurses. Never in my life did OJ and graham crackers taste so delicious. That night she came in and was bothered, I guess, that my daughter was asleep in my arms. I guess she wanted to give me a break because she saw that I was asleep as well. She came in to give me my pills and check my vitals. She took Emily from my arms and tried to lay her in the bassinet thinking she was helping me out. Of course it woke me up and it just made the baby angry. She was fussy and the nurse tried rocking her, changing her diaper and shushing her, and finally I told her that I’d take her again. Suddenly she got quiet. The nurse was clearly upset that she made such a scene when we were perfectly fine but I made sure to thank her anyway. When morning came, I got the usual call from the dining to ask if I would be ordering breakfast and we decided to. Lane had french toast and I had potato and egg tacos. It was ok and everyone was so nice but I asked to go home and they gave me a clean bill of health and saw that I was up and walking since the day of surgery and had been off tubes and catheters all day. We went home around noon on the 9th and I couldn’t believe that we were strapping her into her seat and she was ours to take home. My body felt brand new. After I had her, eating and showering were different. Going to the bathroom was different, I was different all over.

When they stitched me up, they put in metal staples to keep my incision closed up. These were left in for a week after delivery. Then I saw my OB to get them out. This was the worst experience of my life. One of the metal staples right on the end was twisted SO badly that it took the OB, nurse and a snake light & tweezers to get it out. After tugging and twisting the staple around, it started to hurt just when they touched it. I was so close to asking for pain meds or a numbing agent. The doctor said she had never seen anything like this. That’s always wonderful to hear.

This was basically the end of my birthing experience! Thanks for letting us share Michele!!

Jonah was due on Monday, July 24. On July 13, I went to my scheduled OB appointment, and there was a substitute, as my OB was on holidays for a week. She did an internal, and told me there was no way I’d go into labour in the next two weeks, I was not dilated or effaced at all. I was just ready to get that baby out though! I didn’t have a bad pregnancy, but I didn’t enjoy being pregnant, and missed doing things like tying my shoes, breathing comfortably, sleeping on my back….
Three days later, on Sunday night, I was lying in bed reading, when I felt a trickle. I tried to stop it, but couldn’t so I hobbled to the bathroom. It just kept dripping out. I immediately felt so nervous I thought I would throw up, and went back to the bedroom to tell my husband that I was pretty sure my water broke. I called the hospital, and they told us to come in to get checked out, but they’d probably send me back home. So we didn’t pack anything. I had already pre-registered myself into the hospital during the tour, so I just stopped at the ER and picked up my bracelet. They did an internal on me up in the Labour and Delivery section, and I still wasn’t dilated or effaced, so they sent me home. I swear they told me they would call the next morning or to come back if my contractions were 5 min apart. I didn’t have any contractions that night, just a few B&H ones. I waited for a call, and finally at 10am, called them back. THey were a bit testy, telling me I should have come back hours ago, so off we went again, throwing my labour bag into the car. But we didn’t bring it up, as we had assumed we were going home again. I had an internal, and ended up waiting around about an hour, lying in the exam bed, for the OB on call. Oh, I forgot to add that I was runnning a low-grade fever this whole time, and the dr’s were concerned I had an infection. The OB came at about noon, and he decided I was to be induced. I was freaked out by the thought of an IV, as I am deathly afraid of needles. He reassured me that they would just put some gel on my cervix to get things going. First, they fed me lunch, which was quite yummy, then the resident inserted the gel, and told me to lie still on my back for an hour so it wouldn’t run out. Virtually as soon as the gel was inserted, I started having contractions 1 1/2 minutes apart. They were pretty strong from the beginning, but I kept breathing through them. After an hour, no one came back to check on me, so I went out to the nurses station to ask what to do next. I had to stop and collapse on several beds, chairs, benches on the way, as I couldn’t stand through the contractions. So much for walking through my labour as I had planned! They said I could go home if I wanted, and I told them they were out of their mind! My contractions never got any further apart, they were always 1 1/2 minutes apart or closer.
I made them give me a room, and a nurse suggested using the shower. I sat on the chair in the shower and my husband put the hot shower on my back, but it didn’t help. He helped me dry off, and I hobbled back into the bed. I spent virtually all of my labour on my back, a bit on my side, and some on all fours as the nurse recommended. I’m sure my whole bottom was sticking out, but I couldn’t have cared less. I started hyperventilating with the pain at one point, so I asked for laughing gas, and was given it.
I don’t think it did anything for the pain, but helped me focus on breathing.
So when I was induced, I was 0cm dilated, this was at 12:30pm. At 3:30pm, I couldn’t handle the pain anymore, even though I had been previously determined not to have any drugs through my labour. I told the nurse that I couldn’t handle it anymmore, and needed some demerol. She got the resident in to give me an internal first. He told me I was 9cm dilated already, and nearly ready to push, so too late for drugs! I was amazed that I went so fast, although I had never felt such agony in my life. My whole body hurt nearly constantly, from head to toe. I wish I had learned more about meditation and breathing before childbirth!
I had assumed I would have a labour of about 16-20 hours, and after 3 hours, was not able to handle the idea of that kind of pain for another 12 hours. If only I could have known that it would be that short…I may have dealt with it better!
After about 10 minutes more of contractions, they told me to start pushing. I had my feet up on a hoop that went over the bed, and my knees splayed amazingly wide. I remember my husband holding my left hand, the nurse my right, and the two male residents standing between my legs encouraging me and telling me I was doing great. I really appreciated the encouragement at that point! I was pushing all wrong, and it took a while before I figured out how to do it right, so I popped all of the capillaries on my face, arms and chest, I looked like I had the measles for a week afterwards. I would push for the count of ten at the beginning of each contraction, then get time to take two breaths between contractions. I don’t know how many times I pushed, but it was an hour, and it felt like forever.
The OB on call didn’t think I would deliver so fast, and the nurses were frantically paging her to get over from the clinic to deliver my baby. She arrived basically just in time to instruct the residents on exactly how to turn and ease the baby out.
The agony as Jonah crowned was indescribable, but the doctors gently got him out, wiped and suctioned his mouth, and put him on my tummy. I don’t remember who said I had a son, but right away we said his name is Jonah Manuel, as we had picked that out months before. He was wrinkly and grey, and covered in blood and scum. He didn’t cry at the beginning, and I kept asking if he was okay. They told me he was bruised, that’s why he was a funny colour, which was actually a lie to make me feel better, as he pinked up within an hour or so. His head was beautifully shaped, as he came out pretty quickly, and his little eyes were all puffy and squinting at the bright light. I’m sure I tried to breastfeed, but don’t remember if it worked.
The doctor took him over to the scale and heat lamp and cleaned him up and weighed him in at 7lbs 3oz.
Paul also got to cut the cord before he was put on my tummy. I didn’t look at him coming out because in the last 15 min or so of pushing, Jonah’s oxygen levels went down (he had a monitor on his scalp), and I had an oxygen mask, so no glasses. My eyes were closed, and I think the only noises I made during the whole labour, were the screams as he crowned.
I could hear the women in the labour room next door screaming her head off all day, it was a bit disconcerting.

Let me see…the nurse kneaded my suddenly flabby tummy, and I delivered the placenta in a hot rush of blood, that was painless after Jonah’s big head! I found out that they had given me a shot in the leg while Jonah was coming out to get the placenta going, but I didn’t feel it. I had a 2nd degree tear, and was stitched up right away.

Jonah was born at 5:07pm, Monday, July 17, one week early. They saved me a roast turkey dinner with all of the fixings, and it was wonderful to eat after all of that work. I called my family right away on the telephone, and I think my mom almost passed out, as she didn’t expect me to give birth early, and I hadn’t told anyone when my water broke. My parents jumped on the skytrain and zoomed to the hospital right away, they arrived within about 30 min of me giving birth, before I was even moved up to the maternity ward.

We paid a bit extra for a private room, so Paul would have a bed to sleep in, and stayed for two nights. I would have stayed for three, but there were a dozen women in labour that evening, and they needed my bed, so we went home, scared shitless about being by ourselves as new parents!

My first daughter was born in France, I had everything medical as was scared to death and wanted to control things more I suppose. The birth went smoothly even though she was induced three weeks early, a practice quite common in france based on some very overabused theory about the size of the baby and the size of the birth passage…I had an epidural and never felt a thing, the doctors climbed on my tummy to get her out as I couldn’t feel to push, I had a large episiotomy and I was left with mixed feelings about the whole thing, I used to look at the scar with a mirror to convince myself that she came out of me…
My second daughter was born here in Spain, I don’t speak spanish and had been living here for only 5 months when she was born…they waited till a week after my due date and on a Monday after spending the weekend in pre-labour I went for a standard monitoring, they told me that I was in the beginnings of labour, 3cms dilated and that they wouldn’t let me go home, I was so unprepared – which is silly isn’t it? you wait nine months knowing you are going to give birth and when the moment finally comes you shout about how you’re not ready! They put me in a room with a monitor on my belly and a drip, standard procedure her and we waited for my partner to come before giving me pitocin, again standard procedure here, I laboured in that room in a strange position they put me in to get my daughter to turn around as she was facing the wrong way…
they transfered me to another room, my man arrived, they put me on pitocin..the contractions were strong but not regular, I kept needing to pee and had to do so in a basin, they examined me and things were not moving along…after using the basin and the nurse leaving to clean it I heard a huge bump on the monitor and felt the baby “drop” along with the feeling that I was peeing myself…I wriggled about trying to get the water to stop before realising it was the amniotic fluid. The nurse came back and did an exam that made me want to punch her in the teeth, she left and I asked M what she had put up me, her whole hand? I said to him that this was it, things were going to get hairy…
I was right, the contractions went off the monitor in strength and immediately started coming 2 mins or less apart, I concentrated on my breathing and visualising my cervix opening and between contractions I laughed nervously saying that my plans to do this without an epidural were flying out the window, about 30 mins later the nurse came back and I told her that I had plans to have an epidural, she examined me and asked if I was sure as I was already at 8…I said I would try to do two more contractions and then decide, two more contractions later and I needed to push…by this time I had two nurses with me, they didn’t do a thing, they watched me work and agreed to my suggestions to change position, I got on all fours and the mid”man” bent his head and had a look…he said he could see the head and it was time to go. Time to go? where? this is the part I find funny – I got up from the bed, leaning on M and walked to the next room where the birthing table was waiting for me…all this with the head of my baby about to come out.
Getting on that table was the hardest part. I wanted to squat down and push, I remember being inside of myself completely, I hardly noticed the people helping me and only remember M and his help when he translated the nurse for me and told me to stop pushing so that they could ease the head out…I think I pushed three or four times, they told me to hold out my hands and take my baby..I pulled her out the rest of the way and onto my chest…
The birth of my second daughter helped me to overcome the “trauma” of the first one, I have a beautiful memory of her birth even though it was painful and am at peace with my body that it “worked”. I went to the hospital at 12pm, was giving the pitocin at about 5pm and my daughter was born shortly before 7pm.
Thank you for sharing your story and for reading mine, I love telling it but don’t, because besides women that are about to give birth or have recently nobody really wants to know…

I want to flesh it out a little more at some point. There was a period of about 4 hours that I really enjoyed having the contractions and laboring with my husband by my side and holding me through the pain. Having a doula really allowed us focus on one another. It was such a beautiful experience that words can’t describe the intense closeness I felt with my husband. We brought the baby into the world in with complete love and devotion to one another. For me, the birth felt more about the transition of becoming a family than just delivering the baby into the world. I’m already forgetting the physical pain.

Here’s the short of it. Baby number one. In labor for 30 hours, pushed for 3.5 hours because she was facing up instead of down. I remember saying crazy things like “why won’t you help me!” to the doctor and then afterward I could feel them stitching me because my epidural had slipped. That was when they gave me two shots of morphine. 12 months and one day later…induced, pushed once, head was out, pushed again and I felt the whole baby just slide out of me! Two completely different experiences. I much prefer the second one:)

Hi, Michele. Longtime reader, once-in-a-blue-moon poster. I’m about five months pregnant and thinking about using a doula. Do you think having a doula would have helped in your situation? I’ve been reading your story all month and then e-mailing with my cousin, who has been 4cm dilated for a week and is basically just hanging out, waiting. I don’t get it!

You know, I just started writing you back and have decided that a post is necessary at this point. I will answer your questions on the main page. I have received comments (some of which i deleted) and email suggesting things that I really need to clear up. I think i gave the wrong impression. :] So, let me try and make things more clear.

This comment started to become really long. I think it’s best said for everyone to see.

hayden’s due date was the 30th, on the 28th i woke up, peed, because that’s the first thing you do when you wake up right? there was something weird, brown and icky that came out along with my normal pee. i called my friend bridget first. she had been through this whole baby thing three times already, she’ll know what to do i thought. she asked me if it was my mucas plug (i don’t know! does it have “mucas plug” written on it somehwhere?) & suggested i should stay home from work (which oddly enough i was feeling really guilty about). i then called my doctors office and they told me to go up to the hospital. kamil (husband) came home from work & up to the hospital we went. i was hooked up to some machine (see how much i know! i don’t even know what the machine was called) for what seemed like forever. it monitored my contractions. “can you feel that one?” they would ask and i would say “no”. here i was having contractions and i couldn’t even feel them. an hour or so later i started feeling them, but i just laughed thinking “is this it?” “god, what a bunch of wimps women are”. they sent me home knowing my contractions weren’t close enough but said they were sure they’d see me back here that night. after the hospital we stopped at starbucks, because at the end of my pregnancy i was all about allowing myself one serving of caffeine a day. (every time i pass that starbucks i think of this day) by this time kamil & i were all over these contraction. him with his little watch & me with my little breathing techniques, we headed home. kamil’s friend mark came over that night & they went up to the bar. am i a good wife or what? letting my husband go to the bar while i’m in labor!!! well, the bar was right on the corner of our street & i had cell phone numbers in hand. i made it through the night. the next day i awoke (the 29th) . i already had a doctor appointment scheduled for the day. my mom called me & said “i’m driving you, you shouldn’t drive yourself”. what a good mom. so, she took me in and while up on the examining table the doctor asked me “do you want me to strip your membranes?” “do i want you to do what???” i asked. was she even speaking to me or was it someone behind me? so, she explained the procedure to me & said it would speed up the labor process a bit more. i trusted my doctor completely and thought “oh, why the hell not?”. good lord, if anyone ever asks you if you want your membranes stripped say no!!! ouch! she then told me i could head up to the hospital at any time after that. i knew once i got into the hospital i wouldn’t be able to eat & eating is important, right? so, my mom and i went up to national coney island. i remember standing in the parking lot, cars were whizzing past me and i was standing there holding my crotch with a painful look upon my face. someone should of had a camera. i was afraid the baby was going to pop out, but i still managed to scarf down a veggie pita and an order of french fries. back to my moms house we went… i called kamil (husband) at work and told him “anytime honey!”. he left work, went home to get our dog (to bring over to my mom’s house) and started heading out to rescue me. remember when i said my contraction were a piece of cake earlier? well, i take that back. after that whole nightmare of the membrane stripping the pain really kicked in. my brother called me (who lives in chicago), i remember him trying to have a conversation with me & all i could think was god, i really don’t want to chit chat right now, but i don’t want to be rude. so, i huffed & puffed through our words. soon kamil arrived & off to the hospital we went. they checked us in & i got into my overly sexy gown. i think it was around 4 pm at this time. they had us walking through the halls trying to get my contractions closer. i could hear newborns crying from the rooms we passed & i thought “oh my god we’re going to have a baby!”. i wasn’t scared though, i was excited. i must say, i think i was a pretty good trooper. the next couple hours were a big blur to me. i know that my mom, kamil’s mom, our friend’s bridget, doyle & kathleen were all waiting for hayden out in the waiting room & i remember feeling bad for taking up so much of their time. seriously, i think there is something wrong with me. at this time, the o.c. was a new show and when that came on the tv in my room, it was then that i said “ok, turn off the tv”, things were getting serious and i knew it was time to concentrate. my water had not broke & they had to do that for me. i remember the hook tool they showed us in our birthing class to break the water & i cringed when they had to use it on me. but, it really wasn’t a big deal. so, the labor went on & the pain increased. the contractions still weren’t consistant though, & they had to give me pitocen to speed things up. they kept offering me some kind of pain reducer or an epidural but i was convinced i could do this whole thing on my own drug free. i’m so weird. the doctor kept telling me if the baby didn’t come in a certain amount of time than he would probably have to perform a c-section. so, i pushed & pushed. who knows what i was pushing out, considering the fact that i really had to go to the bathroom (i mean, the bathroom!). i could only imagine what kind of things i was pushing out, as they would say “down there”!. they even had me on all fours. yep, like a dog! things were so uncomfortable but i kept refusing drugs (loser). i kept watching the clock, thinking how much longer… kamil kept saying “stop looking at the clock”. before we knew it, kamil was in scrubs scared to death realizing his woman was soon about to go under the knife. phew! a c section. i wasn’t scared, i just wanted the pain to be over & to get on with this whole mother thing already. once the c section pain medication sunk in, i was making jokes with the doctor & asking if they could perform a little lipo once they pulled out the little stinker who refused to turn face down instead of face up. my little stargazer came out after a few incisions & icky noises at 3:11 am october 30th. i saw him from a far while they were cleaning him up & then he was plopped on my chest. the whole thing was weird, wonderful & a moment i will never forget. a moment that changed me into the person i am today. i wouldn’t trade it for the world, because what i have is way bigger than any world possible. i love you little hayden.

The night before we had to park the car at a closed gas station so we would be in line to get gas when it opened the next morning. It was during the gas crunch and you were allowed to get $2.00 worth and when the gas ran out, the station closed. Very early on the 29th of January we picked up the car, got our allotted gas and went to the hospital to have our second child (a boy, a girl? Who knew then?)

You see, this child, due on the 8th was a little stubborn so I was being induced. A little epidural, some pushing and there she was – the prettiest little baby girl I had ever seen.

Mine is long too. Thank you so much for inviting us to share our stories with you and all of your readers. It helps me remember the most memorable day of my life and lets me reflect on the beauty of birth and motherhood.

We were due October 21, 2005. That date came and went. I had an OB appointment on the Friday before Halloween and he told me that nothing had changed, everything was still tight and there was no sign of labour. He wanted me back first thing Monday (like 7:30 am) morning (Halloween!)to do another check after the weekend to see if things had progressed. If not, I would have to be induced, hospital policy. Things had not changed. He told me to go home and get ready and come back to the hospital later that afternoon. When we came back, I had a non-stress test, then was set up in my own room in an amazing Labour and Delivery room. We’re in a small town in Ontario, Canada, so we all get our own private rooms here! My blood pressure was normal throughout pregnancy and I didn’t have any swelling anywhere other than my belly and boobs! After about 2 hours of being in the hospital, my OB came in and inserted Cervidil to try to get things softened and moving. I was to keep it in all night and he would check on me in the morning. In rare occasions, he explained, Cervidil would actually jumpstart actual labour. In the middle of the night, alone in my room (hubby HAD to work), I had the WORST cramps I’ve ever had. I asked the night nurse if I could take a bath and luckily (for her!) she agreed. I went to the tub 4 times before I finally got the guts to ask her to take the Cervidil out because I could not handle the pain anymore. Luckily (for her again!) she agreed! The cramps didn’t completely go away. I was crampy all night but I finally got comfortable enough sitting upright to doze off. In the wee hours of the morning, hubby came back and the doctor came in to check. I told him I was having cramps all night long and that I think it could be labour. I was right! He checked me out and I had dilated 3cm overnight! He broke my water instantly. There was meconium in the fluid so I had to have a saline solution shot “up there” to clear it all out. I just remember how wet it felt and I was worried if my butt had pruned like hands do when they’re in water too long.

Since we are in a small town, our hospital doesn’t necessarily offer epidurals. From the very beginning of my pregnancy, I wanted an epidural because I wanted to enjoy my labour and delivery. I am not one to put myself through more pain than necessary and I really thought I would be happier with an epidural. Luckily for me, the anesthesiologist was on duty that day so an epidural was offered. I jumped at the chance and honestly, I loved it. I enjoyed the entire day. At about 3pm (about 8 hours after my first exam in the morning) I was 9-10 cm dilated. Earlier, the baby’s heart rate had taken a dive so he had the little wire monitor in his head to keep better track of the heart rate. My mom was there, my hubby was there, I was ready. Then I got a freak fever. My temp went up to 102 degrees and the baby’s heart rate sky rocketed. My doctor was calm, cool and collected and told me my options. I could wait it out and see if my temperature and the baby’s heart rate came down, or we could go have a C-Section. I opted for the C-Section because I have always had a fear of pushing. Not 15 minutes later, my husband and I had a beautiful 8lb 12oz baby boy. Evan was beautiful and was very very healthy.

After the birth, I had to go to recovery which was the WORST part of the whole ordeal. I had to lay in a room by myself with no baby, no husband and wait. About an hour or so after the actual birth, I went back to my room and wowed the nurses with my leg movements and willingness to get myself in and out of bed. Finally my baby came in! He was gorgeous. I guess the only draw back to epidural was that when I finally got to hold my boy, my arms were so numb, I had to ask for someone to come pick him up. I was still a little groggy and out of it, but I was happy. 3 more days in the hospital and we brought Evan home.

I have to agree that the aftermath is much worse than the actual labour. My biggest fear (other than pushing) was the first night home. I do not think I was prepared for the mental and emotional chaos that arose during the first 2 months, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.